Catholic gift shop to open in Arlington

Meg Rydzewski hangs up a first Communion dress at her new Catholic gift shop, Joyful Spirit Gifts in Arlington. The St. Agnes parishioner plans to open the shop the first week of September.

When Meg Rydzewski's son made his first Communion, she wanted
to buy him a religious gift to mark the occasion, as most
parents do.

The Arlington resident decided to shop online rather than
make the trek on Northern Virginia's notoriously congested
roads to other shops in Alexandria, Fairfax or Washington.
But when the item arrived, the quality wasn't quite what she
wanted.

"I said, 'I can't be the only one who's frustrated,'"
Rydzewski recalled.

The St. Agnes parishioner, who was planning to go back to the
workforce after years as a stay-at-home-mother, asked other
mothers at the parish school if this had ever happened to
them. "They all had the same experience," she said.

Rydzewski will open Joyful Spirit Gifts in
Arlington's Cherrydale neighborhood during the first week of
September. The shop will offer a range of typical Catholic
gifts, like statues and crucifixes, but some things that can
be a little harder to find, as well. There will be an area
for vintage religious items, costumes for school Christmas
and Easter pageants, and black clothing for priests.

As a D.C. native and secretary for the Cherrydale Citizens
Association, Rydzewski was familiar with businesses in the
area and thought it was important to include locally made
products. The shop will includes stained-glass ornaments,
frames decorated by a Virginia artist, custom embroidered
pillows and handmade religious jewelry.

"I put a lot of effort into finding some really lovely
things, things that I had never seen before," Rydzewski said.
"I think that when people come in they're going to be
surprised by the variety."

Her family pitched in, babysitting Rydzewski's two children,
setting up the shop and providing moral support. A Catholic
construction manager of a local company, Landeros
Construction, also worked with Rydzewski to help keep
renovations to the new store, a former RE/MAX office,
affordable. "He loved that he was working on the only
Catholic store in Arlington," she said.

"I had a very strict budget. There are plenty of Catholic
shops that go out of business every day."

She has reached out to all the local Catholic schools and
parishes via email to introduce herself and ask about
suggestions for things to carry in the store. "Anything that
they need with some regularity I'm happy to help," she said.

Some already have replied back with requests for "school
spirit" attire. With clothing, toys, and comfortable places
to sit, Rydzewski hopes that the shop will be a place people
of all ages will want to visit.

"I really want this to be something where the whole family is
drawn to the store," she said.